A Desert Hot Springs parcel tax, Measure G ballot proposition was on the June 8, 2010 ballot for voters in the City of Desert Hot Springs in Riverside County, where it was overwhelmingly approved.[1]

The question on the ballot asked voters whether they wanted to extend the city's existing parcel tax, set to expire in June 2010, until 2020. The existing parcel tax was $121/year for single-family homes and $39/year for apartments and mobile homes. Altogether, the tax raised about $1.8 million/year for the city.[2]

Election results

Support

Yvonne Parks, mayor of Desert Hot Springs, supported the parcel tax. She said, "...over the past year the Desert Hot Springs Police Department has made significant progress in reducing gangs and crime in our city. Under new management, our city is fiscally accountable."[3]

Text of measure

The question on the ballot:

To prevent crime and shorten 9-1-1 response times by hiring additional police officers, firefighters, paramedics; upgrading emergency communications equipment; increasing gang and drug prevention programs; and expanding community policing, shall the City of Desert Hot Springs renew the existing annual public safety parcel tax rates for a period of 10 years, with independent citizens' review/annual audits?[5][6]

Annexation

The City of Desert Hot Springs was in the process of annexing 4,000 acres that would extend its southern border to Interstate 10. The county's annexation commission said that for the annexation to be finalized, the city must ensure that it can provide adequate policing and public safety services for that new acreage. Money from the parcel tax, according to some, would be needed to ensure the necessary level of policing.[7]

Budget deficit

The City of Desert Hot Springs faced a $3.1 million deficit in its public safety budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The parcel tax was expected to bring in $1.8 million/year, so even when voters approved extending the tax for another 10 years, the city still needed to find ways to address the remaining million-plus deficit.